


Stray Cat Crossing

by crimson_wake



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hallucinations, M/M, Major Mind Fuck, Murder, Psychological Horror, Psychological Trauma, Puzzles, Repressed Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:25:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6086593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimson_wake/pseuds/crimson_wake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma finds a lost boy on the side of the street and decides to take him home only to find that the boy's house nor his own memories can be relied upon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Favor

**Author's Note:**

> you probably shouldn't read this if you're easily offended or squeamish
> 
> From the rlly fun game stray cat crossing

Kenma opened his eyes slowly as if waking up from a long dream only to find that he was walking down the middle of the street late at night. His mind felt slightly muddled as a strange sense of anxiety sparked in the deepest parts of his mind. It was just the quiet eeriness of the dark that made him paranoid, he convinced himself as he adjusted his scarf around his neck to fit more comfortably around the appendage. He couldn't remember when he received the scarf, other than the fact that he knew he was very young, but he knew it was important to him. It was cold, crisp autumn nights like these that the unknown scarf he held dear came in handy.

As Kenma continued his journey down the road he saw something move in the corner of his eye. Whipping his head around he saw a little boy hiding, albeit very poorly, behind a tree and carefully watching him. He didn’t look very old, six or seven tops, so what was he doing out so late at night? If it weren’t for the time he would have guessed the other was lost but another thought made him believe he had run away from home considering how well he was dressed. Hesitantly, as not to startle the young child, he takes slow steps towards the other side of the street as the boy watches him closely, clinging to the bark of the tree as if for reassurance.

“Hey,” Kenma greets, “Are you alright?” He reluctantly comes out from his hiding place behind the tree and takes a wary step forward under the light that the streetlamp above them casts. The young boy looks the older male up and down. Deciding he was harmless and could be trusted he nods slowly before speaking in a soft, shy voice,

“I’m scared.” He says, holding his hands against his chest to keep them warm as the wind suddenly blows, sending a shiver down his spine. Kenma purses his lips into a firm line, fairly certain the latter had run away from home. Should that be the case his parents must be worried sick about him.

“What’s wrong? Are you lost?” The bleached blonde looks around to see if he could identify in what direction the boy had come from. He’s silent for another few moments as if recollecting his thoughts before speaking,

“I want to go home.” The child stares down at the rough, cracked asphalt of the street with his bottom lip quivering. Whether it be from the cold or how shaken up he was, Kenma didn’t know.

“Do you know where your house is?” He asks, wondering if he would need to turn the child into the police if worst came to worst. He continues to remain silent for another few moments. It’s his speech pattern or he’s nervous, maybe both, he thinks.

“Yes,” He responds finally and Kenma lets out a sigh of relief. Taking several steps down the street he points in front of him to show the other the direction of his house, “It’s this way.” He turns back around to face the other.

“I can take you home if you want,” He offers and the child remains silent, “Don’t you want to go home?”

“Okay.” The younger boy nods, fumbling with his fingers slightly. Kenma begins to walk down the street only to find that the boy isn’t following him. He turns around and sees that he’s still just standing there.

“What’s wrong?” He questions, walking up towards him once again.

“Cold.” He whispers and shivers as the wind picks up again and blows against his small frame.

“Oh,” Kenma lets out a sigh, “Here, take my scarf.” He urges as he pulls his scarf from his neck and wraps it around the little boy’s neck, “Better?”

“Too tight.” He complains monotonously. If he had known any better he would have assumed the child was being sarcastic.

“Oh, sorry.” Kenma murmurs an apology as he loosens the scarf around the little boy’s neck.

“It’s okay,” He hums, “It wasn’t your fault.”

_It wasn’t your fault._

“Better?” He asks as he finishes adjusting it.

“Warm!” The boy cracks a soft smile as he nuzzles into the scarf comfortably.

“Good,” Kenma returns the smile, “By the way, what’s your name?” As usual, the boy is silent for a short period of time as if he has to think, even about his own name, before answering,

“It’s Cat.”

“Nice to meet you, Cat. Let’s take you home.” The child nods at his statement and they both begin to walk further down the road. They venture off towards the side of the road as a small, blue vehicle rips down the road, the front lights of the car nearly blinding them both but not quite.

A very large house, almost mistakably a mansion, turns up first to the right of the street as the pair walked for quite a bit. Kenma stops in front of the large house and turns to the boy named Cat,

“Is this your house?” He asks, looking down at the boy expectantly.

“Yes, here is fine.” Cat nods and begins to walk towards his home. “Goodbye!” He stops in his tracks before turning back to the other, “...Um, thank you!” The iron gates suddenly open as if they were expecting the boy to approach and he quickly runs inside the mansion, leaving Kenma behind.

“Hey, wait! My scarf!” Kenma shouts and outstretches his hand to him but it’s too late as the front door opens and slams shut. He’s silent for a few moments, “I can’t lose that scarf…” He mumbles to himself as he rubs his throat where his scarf used to lay.

Walking past the gates and to the front porch, the bleached blonde notices the wooden door remains slightly ajar despite Cat obviously slamming it shut. Thinking nothing of it, he enters the home.

“Cat?” He calls out into the seemingly empty home and receives no response.

Curiously, he walks into the nearest room only to find a library with one shelf. There was a single book that didn’t seem glued to the book shelf nor covered in dust. The title on the bridge of the book read, _“The Compiled Works Of William Shakespeare”_ and all the pages had been forcibly ripped out. Leaving the room and walking into the next he found the kitchen. The cupboards seemed to be sealed tight and the kitchen looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. Finding the two rooms to be similar he decided to look for the little boy elsewhere and made his way down the nearby staircase. The hallway was rather narrow for such a large house and it felt almost suffocating, causing Kenma to pick up his pace. When he came to the end of the hallway there was a wooden door to which he hastily opened and walked into the room. By the looks of it he could conclude that it was a basement.

“Cat? Are you in here?” He calls out only to have no answer. Frowning, he turns to leave again only to find that the door is suddenly locked. His heart stops in his chest and he turns around and keeps walking further into the basement.

Suddenly, the lights snap on and momentarily blind Kenma as he screws his eyes shut and waits for his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. When he reopens them he finds two people, boys, to be standing next to one another at the end of the room. One, was very short while the other was tall and lanky, both wearing stupid grins plastered across their face. They bared their teeth at him and somehow it didn’t seem friendly as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“Look! Look! Look at that hag!” The short one squeals. If Kenma hadn’t known better he would have assumed he was a child. He had light brown hair and eyes to match.

“Look what the cat dragged in!” The taller one’s grin widens, stretching almost painfully across his cheeks. The lanky male had silver hair and piercing green eyes. He would have found them to be intimidating if they didn’t look so dull and lifeless.

“A guest! A guest!” The short boy chirps. If he listened closer, he could have sworn they both sounded monotonous.

“We must look out best. We’ve never had a guest before!” The tall ones chimes in despite they're both wearing rather filthy tuxedos and top hats. It was if they were buried beneath the soil.

“A sight for sore eyes, isn’t it?” The shorter male sighs.

“That’s a sore lie, isn’t it?” The other retorts, looking down on the short male.

“Isn’t it? Isn’t it?” He giggles, one of his eyes twitching uncontrollably.

“Who...are you?” Kenma reluctantly asks as he tenses due to their strange behavior.

“Don’t be so innocent.” The tall male says as if it’s a form of advice.

“Hear that? Heart that?” The shorter male presses a hand to his ears and closes his eyes.

“Weird, that.” The tallest nods, closing his eyes as well. Kenma furrows his brows at their display. He didn’t hear anything and he certainly didn’t want to spend another moment with these weirdos.

“Well, he never did meet us, did he?” The brunette frowns and stares pointedly at the bleached blonde.

“Did he? Did he? Precious, isn’t he?”

“Have you seen a little boy around?” Kenma asks, having enough of their strange charade and just wanted his scarf.

“Little boy? Little boy?” The shorter male’s eye continues to twitch.

“Aren’t you a little boy?” The one with jade hues questions as he places a thin, boney finger to his lip in thought. Kenma is silent for a few moments before forming a response,

“I want to leave.”

“He’d like to leave?” The short male nibbles on one of his finger nails.

“To leave? The nerve!” The taller scoffs but smiles despite this.

“The peeve! We’d grieve!” The brunette takes several steps closer to Kenma with his arms folded behind his back, grinning all the while.

Sighing, Kenma looks around the room for any possible exits only to find none other than the locked door. “Is there a way out?” He asks, half-heartedly hoping for a legitimate response.

“Out? Yes.” The taller one folds his arms across his broad chest and nods silently. The shorter one follows,

“Doubt? Yes.”

“A favor! I declare a favor!” The boy with silver hair beams, causing the other to become excited as well.

“A favor?” The brunette questions, smiling like a madman.

“Honor the favor and then he can leave.” The tallest nods.

“The nerve! The peeve!” The shortest scoffs. Kenma sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose but humors them.

“Okay. What’s the favor?”

“Our favor, he asks!” The tallest laughs almost condescendingly.

“Please, mister. It’s not a hard task.”

“This worthless mutt here,” He extends his long arm to the floor and points to the shaved bulldog laying lazily across the cold floor. Kenma gasps, not noticing its presence. “Can you tell me its name?”

“Hear, hear!” The shorter male pipes, laughing as he does so.

“Then you can leave.” The tallest nods as if confirming his own statement to be true.

“Leave us behind, how unkind!” The brunette sighs, pressing a hand to his forehead and mocking betrayal. Kenma looks back down at the dog. Were they sure it was a dog? It looked as though the dog had a morbidly angry face, resembling that of a baby’s wrinkled face when it cries horrendously.

Looking around the room, Kenma saw another door hiding at an odd angle within the corner where two walls meet. Hesitantly looking back at the strange pair, he pushes the heavy wooden door open and slowly walks down the stairs as the sound of his shoes hitting the concrete stairs echo throughout the basement. What he found at the end of the stairs appeared to be a miniature laboratory, if he had to take a guess. In front of him was a desk with an opened book and slightly messy handwriting. It appeared to be a diary and it read,

_“May 18th, 1912_

_To be honest, I find their back gardens terrifying as it is fascinating. The creatures that lurk there can only be described as cunning and monstrous. And yet the plants that take root there...I never could have dreamed of them. The flora seem ordinary, but their properties are, I daresay, magical. For example, the extract of rose emanates warmth, even in the coldest conditions...”_

The rest of the page appeared to be scribbled out.

Furrowing his brows in confusion, the bleached blonde looked up from the diary and peered across the nearby flasks, beakers and test tubes. Making his way over to the set, he noticed a red chemical filled with glass as well as a dead bird strung up to the ceiling by rusty wires. It had masking tape on it with faded marker that read, “Rose Extract.” Kenma’s eyes shifted over the empty test tubes and curiously pulled one out of its holder. Looking back over to the red chemical he picked up the flask and gently poured the fluids into a test tube.

 _‘Emanates warmth in the coldest conditions, huh?’_ He thinks to himself skeptically and begins to make his way back up the stairs to question the duo about this along with the diary entry. Abruptly, he felt a flash of searing, white pain course through his skull. When a scream ripped from his throat and screwed his eyes shut he saw nothing but the heavy static creeping behind his eyelids, feeling as though pins and needles were pricking the back of his eyes as if threatening to blind him. When he opened them again, the sudden hallucination and immense pain was gone and he was gripping tightly onto the handrail as beads of sweat collected at his forehead and his chest heaved for air.

“F-Fuck…” His breath hitches in his throat before he lets out a shaky sighs and resumes climbing the stairs. He had to get his scarf and leave this house as soon as possible. When he sees the duo idly chit chatting, as if they didn’t hear him scream, he notices an ice sculpture of a swan that wasn’t in the room prior. Pursing his lips he slowly walked over to it and hesitantly poured the red chemical on it, causing it to melt almost instantly.

Kenma suddenly heard a click from somewhere and noticed another door placed oddly against the wall, across the room from the other. Turning the knob, he slowly made his descent down yet another set of staircases. This room seemed far more welcoming than the other. It had a large nutcracker, a projector, a film reel, and a bust of god knows who. Almost on reflex, the bleached blonde picks up the film reel and places it into the projector.

A movie began to play, one of those old black and white ones, as the male watched attentively. At the screen it showed a picture of the horrendous mutt from the previous room with the words, “Starring Faust the dog.”

 _‘So, that’s the mutt’s name.’_ Kenma thinks as he watches the rest of the movie which just turns out to be the the duo and the mutt switching heads. When the film is done, the male spins on his heel to leave only to find the mutt carrying something in his mouth and practically glaring up at him. He places the object on the floor, an egg, and it naturally rolls towards his feet. Taking it, Kenma quirks a brow at it and the dog just gives a soft grunt before walking back upstairs, his nails scratching against the concrete. Since that was his intended destination as well, and he now knows the dog’s name, he follows.

“This worthless mutt here,” The tallest turns to Kenma as he enter the room and points at the mutt, “Can you tell me its name?”

Kenma swallows a lump in his throat and nods, “I can. It’s Faust.”

“Correct! Correct!” He sing-songs.

“Correct?” The smallest cocks his head to the side in confusion. “How?”

“Foul play, I suspect!” He sneers, looking down on Kenma despite knowing the truth.

“Must be, must be.” The brunette nods.

“Must be,” He nods as well, “Must we ask for another favor?”

“Must we? We must!”

“We mustn't hate him. Another favor will right the wrong!” He hums, opening one green eye to peer at Kenma’s look of discomfort and frustration.

“Favors for Favors!”

“Bring us the favorite food of the ram.” The tallest commands.

“Now scram!” The shortest threatens.

Upon recollecting his memory, Kenma did see the remains of a ram’s head nailed to the wall in the laboratory. Sighing, he makes his way to the other door and carefully walks down the stairs gripping the handrail should another hallucination surprise him. The last thing he wants is to take a tumble- especially in this house. Peering over the desk, he notices the pages from the diary have been forcibly torn out. It read,

_“...The clover concentration sharpens the mind, allowing me to understand dead languages.”_

The rest of the page appeared to be scribbled out.

Peering back over to the miniature laboratory set, Kenma takes hold of another test tube and takes hold of a beaker containing a green chemical, pouring its liquids into the empty test tube. The diary did say that it sharpened the mind. Did that mean he had to drink it? Letting out a defeated sigh, the bleached blonde pressed the test tube to his lips and swallowed just a few drops. Black splotches entered his field of vision for several moments before he noticed strange, red writing on the wall in front of him. It read,

“What does the ram see?”

Looking up at the ram skull hanging on the back wall of the room with its mouth chained and locked shut, Kenma thought.

 _‘What does the ram see? Well, it’s facing this side of the wall, so…?’_ He thought, trying to put the pieces together. Tracing his fingers against the hard stone of the wall the ram was facing, he gasped lightly when the stone startled to crumble beneath his fingertips. The hole grew larger and before he knew it a large portion of the wall had crumbled, giving up the discrete hiding place of a secret room. In the room there was a table with nothing but a lonely peanut on the plate. Was this seriously the ram’s favorite food? Skeptical but with no other option, Kenma picked up the peanut and left the hidden room and began to make his way back up the stairs and to the odd duo who seemed so keen on requesting favors from him.

“So, have you brought the favorite food of the ram?” The tallest grins, extending his hand. The male nodded and showed him the peanut, causing both of their faces to turn sour. “Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong!”

“Now, move along!”

“W-What?” Kenma knits his eyebrows together in confusion. He stared at the peanut in his hand. How was he wrong? Defeated, he goes into the other room he found prior to this new favor they had asked, for more clues. Making his way down the stairs and turning a corner is when he notices the nutcracker and let’s out a soft “oh” of realization.

“I-Is that...a peanut? Oh, It looks so...juicy.” The nutcracker rasps, startling the poor boy as he stumbles several steps back. Hesitantly, Kenma places the peanut in the nutcracker's mouth. He downs it immediately and spits out a key at the boy as if a token of gratitude.

“Oh, uh...thanks.” Kenma sputters as he takes the key and quickly runs back up the stairs and to the next room, remembering the chained and locked mouth of the ram since it was unlikely it was for one of the doors. Running down the stairs two, and sometimes three at a time, Kenma quickly pivoted to the left and approached the ram skull hanging against the wall. Fumbling with the key, he unlocked the lock and removed the chains. As soon as he did, two conjoined hearts fell from the ram’s mouth.

Kenma was sure he was going to vomit on the spot as he felt bile rise up to his throat at the sight. Clenching his eyes shut, he hastily picked them up and tried not to pay to much attention on how the hearts felt in his hands as he made his way back upstairs to the duo. This had to be right, there was no way for him to be wrong this time.

“So, have you brought me the favorite food of the ram?” The tallest grins and extends his hand. The blood drains from his face as he nervously hands over the conjoined hearts. He’s silent for a moment, expressionless before his usual grin curls onto his lips. “Correct! The Ram loves to devour human hearts!”

“Correct? Correct? Impossible! Implausible!” The shortest huffs, crossing his arms across his chest stubbornly.

“You couldn’t have known!” The male with silver hair defends.

“You couldn’t have known.” The brunette nods, agreeing with the other.

_You couldn’t have known._

“How? How, how, how, how, how?”

“Now, Now,” The shortest cuts the other off before he loses his temper, “We’ll allow it.”

“But, but…” He stammers, clearly frustrated.

“But...favors for favors!” The shortest chimes.

“Favors for favors!” The tallest joins in.

“That means you still owe us one more favor!” The shorter male says, resting his hands on his hips.

“One more favor!” The tallest seems to have gained his cheerful yet eerie mood back, “Sing us the perfect song with the perfect voice!”

“A song! A song! With the voice of a choice!”

Kenma’s mind drifts off the the last chemical left in the basement. He lets out an annoyed sigh and makes his way back down to the miniature laboratory for what feels like the millionth time. Out of habit, he peers over the table to find the diary’s pages are once again forcibly ripped out, displaying new contents,

_“...And the essence of violet even returns dead creatures to life! I plan to leave this place with ample samples immediately. That woman is queer enough, truth be told it’s her demented child that frightens me most.”_

The rest of the page appeared to be scribbled out.

Grabbing the last test tube, Kenma takes hold of the last chemical and spills it on the dead bird that hangs from the ceiling over the red chemical. Its eyes open and wings begin to flap fervently, knocking several things over ultimately before flying out of the room. He follows it, climbing up the stairs and bursting through the door. He could feel his heart drop as the same white, blinding pain coursed through his body. When he closed his eyes he saw a crib rocking back and forth as well as the same static eating away at his sanity. It’s gone the moment it started and it feels as though the experience alone has drained the male of all his energy. Shaking his head of his delirious state, he stands back up from when he had apparently fallen to his knees and follows the bird into the room across the basement.

Descending down the stairs, Kenma noticed the nutcracker was not in the same placed as he had been before. Setting his lip into a firm line, he peeked behind the nutcracker to find another hidden room. Entering it, he found the bird resting on a piano that seemed to be playing by itself. Suddenly, the piano stopped and the bird repeated the note’s the piano had been playing only moments prior.

‘The bird learned the song?’ Realizing this was what they meant by the perfect tune, the boy extended his hand out the bird to which it carefully climbed into his palm and rested comfortably.

Going back to the two, Kenma let the bird fly around the room.

“Can you? Can you sing us the perfect song with the perfect voice?” The tallest nearly mocks. Kenma nods and the bird begins singing the same tune it had learned from the piano.

The smallest male sniffles slightly at the tune, “It’s perfect! Perfect!” Without hesitation he pulls out a gun and shoots the bird, killing it on the spot.

“Dead things should stay dead, shouldn’t they?” The tallest sneers, staring at the bird’s corpse with contempt as Kenma looks at it with wide, frightened eyes.

“Shouldn’t they? Shouldn’t they?” The shortest snickers, throwing the gun away.

“Couldn't they? Wouldn’t they?” The male with silver hair giggles childishly and the other joins in as well. “Well,” He speaks up again, “You won! You won! But didn’t we have a blast?”

“Yeah!” The short male chimes in, “Why leave so fast?”

“So soon?” The other twists his head at an odd angle Kenma was sure his neck would break under normal circumstances.

“After that wonderful tune?”

“Say,” The tall man pushes his head further into the odd angle but continues speaking as if nothing was wrong, “Why don’t you stay awhile?”

“Awhile! Awhile!”

“We think you’re swell.”

“You’re so swell, we can tell!”

“Well? Well?”

Kenma doesn’t even have to think about his answer, “No.” The two pause for a moment as if not expecting such a quick answer.

“No? No?” The shortest frowns, staring at the floor.

“Do you really have to go?” The male with dull, green eyes frowns as well but maintains eye contact with Kenma.

“That blows.” The short male kicks the ground with a huff. They’re both silent for a good few moments for once before the tallest sighs and speaks up,

“Well, we promised, didn’t we?”

“We did, didn’t we?” The other matches its counterpart’s tone and sounds defeated as well, though it's a bit forced.

“You will be missed.” They’re both silent again and for once they look as though they’re seeing a friend off they won’t see for awhile if ever.

“The door to the outside…” The brunette speaks up after quite some time.

“It’s open.”

“You can leave if you want.” The short male says as if Kenma actually wants to stay here, which he doesn’t.

“If you want…” The tallest nods and stares at the door Kenma had entered through to get to the basement. They continue to remain silent as they watch him turn and leave without a second thought.

Now back in the narrow hallway, which seemed more comfortable than the basement now, the bleached blonde began his departure back up the stairs and to the first floor from where he came. Though the hallway he first came through wasn’t familiar to him at all. There were holes seeping through the wood of the floor and if he didn’t watch his step he was sure he would fall through.

Once again, the static was beneath his eyelids once more although it didn’t quite hurt like the last few times. In fact, it didn’t hurt at all. Seeing something at the end of the narrow hallway, Kenma paled as he felt his blood run cold. There was an empty cradle and above it was a fetus, hardly developed, hanging from the ceiling with a nose around its neck. It struggled, rasping for oxygen as it choked out hateful words,

“Why…! Why did you leave us?! No one ever gave us a chance! Why did you leave us? We never got a chance to live! Why? Why? Why?”

“W-What…?”

“It’s your fault, you know. Why did you leave us? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?!” It screeched as it struggled even harder ultimately before snapping its own neck on the noose. Kenma screeched in horror and ran to the entrance of the basement where he had once entered, a fire punching his lungs causing them to sting as it begged for oxygen and to rest

As he pushed the door to the basement open he heard parting words from seemingly no source,

_“Don’t forget me. Even if you don’t like me any more. Please, don’t forget me.”_

Before his eyes as he tried his best to catch his breath, Kenma saw a familiar boy wearing his scarf.

“Cat!” He stammered as he scrambled to his feet.

“They didn’t like me anymore…” He says quietly, not facing him. “Mommy was expecting them soon. The twins. So Mommy and Tetsurou didn’t need me anymore. So I left. That’s why the twins are mad.”

“Cat?” He knits his brows together, confused but listens nonetheless.

“The twins...Mommy and Tetsurou...they all died. I _killed_ them.” He says quietly, his voice wavering ultimately before walking away.


	2. The Seasons

When Cat was out of sight the television in the living room suddenly turned on. Kenma frowned and took a step closer to it to examine it. There was nothing on the screen except for the almost rhythmic static. He found it to be creepy but almost mesmerizing, in a sense. Turning on his heel, he went down the corridor he saw the young boy seemingly vanish down.

Similarly to the basement, the hallway became narrow the further he walked down it and he wondered if he would be trapped in another room. When he reaches the end of the hall there isn’t even a door. It just appears to lead outside into a rather large garden. It should have come to him sooner but it didn’t. This house was definitely strange, not to mention the people residing within it. Was this even real? He knew it was so why didn’t it feel real?

“Cat?” He calls out and receives no response, “Not this again…” Kenma sighs. Suddenly, a large, white owl swoops down and rests on a marble pillar sitting aimlessly in front of him, its large talons scraping against the beautiful material.

“Who can tell me the time?” It hoots. Upon further inspection there were the words “Lunch time”, “Tea time”, “Dinner time”, and “Bedtime.” Another puzzle? So soon?

“Dinner time?” Kenma hesitantly answers since it does appear to be around that time by the way the sun had already set despite it having done so long ago. Was time different here as well? The ground begins to shake abruptly and he thinks for a moment it's an earthquake before it suddenly stops as soon as it started, leaving him frazzled.

“Who will be my dinner, then?” The owl, unphased by this, hoots once more. Then, without another word, it flies away and out of sight. Ignoring this, Kenma continues to walk through the garden until he stumbles upon a large pond with an abundance of lilies pads floating through the clear water. In front of him stood a bridge that led straight across the pond. However there was a tree with a rather large cocoon hanging from it. A woman’s head peered out from the end and she smiled eerily at him with her full set of teeth. She had blood red lips and extremely pale skin in contrast. To say the sight behold him was disturbing would be an understatement.

“Back again, dearie?” She squints at him and her smile twitches a bit.

He was silent for a few moments, clearly baffled, before responding, “...Excuse me?”

“Have a seat, sweetie. I’ll put on the kettle.” She hums in delight despite the fact that there was no chair nor kettle around.

“Sorry,” Kenma takes a wary step back, “But who are you?”

“Who am I?” She sounds offended, “Why...who am I?”

Already tiring of this he cuts to the chase, “Have you seen a little boy wearing a scarf around here?”

“Oh?” She presses her lips together in thought, “Do you mean little Cat? No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen him since the accident…”

“What accident?” The woman stays silent before changing the subject,

“I’m so worried about my poor baby.”

“Your baby?”

“The wolves,” The cocooned woman sniffles, “The wolves! Its taken my baby! Please, bring my baby back, sweetums.”

“I just want to find Cat.” He explains, growing increasingly frustrated. She says nothing in return. Peeking behind her, Kenma sees the rest of the bridge to get across the pond and he slowly walks past the woman cautiously before picking up the pace once he’s out of her reach.

When he reaches the other side of the garden he finds the same owl sitting on yet another marble pillar. Behind it is the entrance to a hedge maze with a man clad in armor with the head of a ram’s skull. When Kenma tried to step forward he growled and stood in his way. Taking a few steps to the left, the ram mimicked this, purposefully blocking his way into the maze. Letting out a frustrated sigh the bleached blonde approached the owl once more.

“Who can tell me the time?” It hoots. And the pillar suddenly has the engravings “Lunch time”, “Tea time”, “Dinner time”, and “Bedtime.” Suddenly, the sky grew darker and the abrupt shift startled the boy as he looked around questioningly. Putting the engravings and the time of day together he forms a reluctant response,

“...Bed time?” Just like before, the ground begins to shake violently but only for a few moments.

“Who dare tells an owl to sleep at night?” It hoots once more, sounding more like a sneer than its usual monotonous voice. When he turns around, the other half of the bridge turned to a sharp angle to the right, showing a new pathway to the garden.

Crawling past the cocooned woman hanging from the tree and staring at him with a blood red smile poised on her lips, Kenma walked down the bridge. In the distance, although not far, he could hear classical oriental inspired music. When he kept walking he stumbled upon a small, traditional Japanese styled home with lanterns hanging on the front steps. When he took a step forward a loud, piercing voice screamed at him,

_“Get out!”_

Turning on his heel, the male ran out of this section of the garden and back to where the owl and the man with the head of the ram’s skull rest. The owl hoots again,

“Who can tell me the time?” It hoots once more when the sky brightens and the clouds have tints of bright orange and pink. Kenma looked back at his choices that were engraved into the pillar before forming a response, the words clumsy on his tongue,

“Tea time?”

“Who doesn’t enjoy afternoon tea?” And just as the other two times, the Earth vibrates, rattles, and shakes. He turns behind him again only to find the other half of the bride was now angled left as opposed to the right. When he turns down the bridge he hears a demanding, shrill scream,

“Help!” The voice screeches, “Hey, you!”

Kenma is silent for a moment. Was it talking to him? “...Me?”

“Yeah, you! Ugly! Come over here!” It commands and the male frowns before walking towards it. It looked as though it was an insect with a porcelain, albeit terrifying, face as its insect-like body was tied with rope.”Get me outta here!”

“Um…” He stammers, finding this to be the strangest situation he found himself in and he felt his anxiety flare rapidly.

“Are you stupid or something?” It hissed harshly, “Hurry up! Before they come back!”

“Who do you mean by ‘they’?” Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard behind the pair and when he hesitantly turned around him he found four wolves, all different colors, stitched to one another and bearing their teeth at him.

“Fellas! Look who decided to join us for dinner.” A wolf that had putrid green fur snarls.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, showin’ your face ‘round here!” The second wolf with dark purple and black fur joins in.

“Finally,” The third wolf with brown fur sighs, “I’ve been getting tired of grubs.”

“Um…” He stammers and glances back at the grub tied in tight bondage, “Do you mind if I take this…thing here?”

“Thing?!” Its mouth hangs agape, clearly exasperated by Kenma’s rude comment.

“‘Ey, Spring!” The fourth wolf with pure white fur calls, “Do we mind if he takes that thing there?”

“I dunno, Winter.” The wolf with the disgustingly green fur says, “Oi, Summer! Do we mind?”

“You’re damn right we mind.” The second wolf, named Summer, growls.

“Hey, anyone else hungry?” The brown wolf interrupts, earning him a glare from Spring.

“You shut up, Autumn.” Spring groans in irritation.

“Yeah, can’t you see we’re in the middle of some astute deliberation, here?” Summer joins in.

Feeling particularly offended, Autumn retorts, “Oh yeah? Well, your teeth are messed up!”

“Um…” Kenma interrupts their petty arguement, “I didn’t know wolves could be joined together?”

“You better fucking believe it!” Winter snarls.

“It was that stupid Sphinx!” Spring comments.

“I told y’all that she was magic!” Summer sighs.

“We used to be free wolves, man!” Winter assures the bleached blonde.

“But that god damn, liver-eyed, yellow-bellied, hog of a Sphinx stitched us together!”

“I told y’all that she was trouble.” Summer reminds them of their grave mistake. Before long, the four wolves named after the seasons begin arguing amongst each other, forgetting Kenma and the strange insect.

“Psst! Hey, ugly!” The grub whispers harshly.

“Yeah?” He responds. Why was he responding to such an insult?

“Tell them you’ll go ask the Sphinx for a cure. It’s our only chance for escape!” The insect urges. Kenma turns back to the stitched wolves arguing amongst each other.

“Excuse me.” He fumbles with his fingers anxiously.

“You’d better have a good reason for interrupting!” Winter scowls at him with cold, blue eyes. Swallowing a nervous lump in his throat, he pursues,

“I can ask the Sphinx for a cure.” They’re all silent for a moment before Winter speaks up,

“You’ll do what?”

“Are you crazy or somethin’?” Spring asks.

“She’ll eat you alive, man!” Summer warns.

“But," Winter cuts the other three off as he speaks so he has everyone’s attention, “Bein’ free of these fools would be nice.” They remain quiet before Spring lets out an irritated grunt,

“Fine! Go talk to the Sphinx!”

“And we’ll be keeping this here until you come back.” Autumn place his front paws on the grub and holds it in places firmly, earning him a squeak from it.

Unsure of where to find the Sphinx, he goes crosses the bridge to the right and continues walking until he hears the familiar oriental music. Kenma bites his bottom lip and slowly rises into the heavily Asian-inspired home, relieved he isn’t greeted with shouting or insults. Inside the small almost cottage-like home stood a very tall Ram adorning a red kimono. Upon seeing him, she speaks,

“Ah, the boy returns.”

“Returns?” He knits his eyebrows together in confusion.

“Oh? The boy does not remember?” The ram purses her thin lips in thought. Kenma remains silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

“Are you the Sphinx?” He questions, looking the woman up and down.

She nods, “Some call this one that, yes. But this one calls herself...The Woman.” He continues to stay silent, “The boy has come to ask if the woman will separate the wolves, no?”

“How did you know?”

“The woman knows many things,” She sighs, “But she can not honor the boy’s request.”

“Why not?” He frowns at this.

“Vile creatures, wolves.” She hums and nods to herself as if agreeing with her own statement, “They must pay for what they have done.”

“What exactly did they do?”

“However,” The woman ignores him and presses on, “It has been awhile since The Woman has seen the red larva.”

“A what?” And just like that he’s confused again.

“A red larva!” She chimes happily, “Nothing would make The Woman happier. If the boy brings the woman a red larva, then perhaps The Woman will separate the wolves.”

“Okay,” Kenma sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose in slight annoyance, “Where can I find a red larva?”

“The boy can find the red larva if he enters the hedge maze,” The Woman explains, “But be warned! The boy may not come out. Now, off he goes!” Getting kicked out of the house once more, Kenma made his way across the bridge when the cocooned woman stopped him.

“Mind the flowers, sweetie. They don’t like being stepped on. Don’t get lost, now.” She hums, her red stained lips curling into a disturbing grin. With a slight frown, Kenma crosses the other half of the bridge only to find that the man with the ram skull head was no longer guarding it.

Upon entering the hedge maze, Kenma noticed it was significantly darker than it was in the rest of the garden. Beneath his feet he hears a disgusting ‘squish’ as if he had stepped in something unfavorable. Looking down with a crinkled nose, the boy realized he had stepped on several red and yellow flowers. When he paid no mind to them he felt an acute pain piercing his skull. It started behind his eyes and quickly traveled to the rest of his skull as he was rendered frozen. As he closed his eyes tightly, he saw a woman with long, silver hair slowly turning towards him with blank eyes, a long white dress adorning her thin frame. When he opens them again, the pain and the flowers are gone. In front of him was a deathly pale woman with long, flowing silver hair that almost gleamed white under the dim lights of the maze. Terrified from his recent hallucination that had seemed to become a reality, he ran to the left and was quickly out of sight.

After running for quite some time, Kenma slowed down when he saw a wooden sign that read,

_‘You said I was sick. You didn’t mean it, did you? You didn’t mean it.’_

When he took another turn, he saw the familiar man with the ram skull for a head that was originally guarding the maze which caused him to jolt in surprise.

“...Do you know where I can find a red larva?” It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?

“Nobody is getting a red larva without a password. You got one?” The man growls. The boy frowns and shakes his head, “Then get out of here! I don’t have time for stupid kids!”

Stepping back from the man, Kenma began wandering aimlessly around the maze for what seemed like hours. Wasn’t there some sort of phrase that if you wanted to find you way out of a maze you had to stick to one wall? Or was it stick to one path? He couldn’t remember.

“Hey,” A grub below him speaks as he nearly steps on it, “Want to know the password?”

“How’d y-”

“Not important,” It interrupts, “I’ll give you a hint. It’s six letters long and everyone has one.”

“Wh-”

“It’s ‘mother’.” The grubs snaps irritably and dives into the a nearby hedge as if avoiding something. Well, at least he knew the password now.

Making his way back to the man, or at least trying to, Kenma chanted the word ‘mother’ in his head over and over again. It took him another long while to find him once again and he was desperately out of breath and his lungs felt as though they were on fire.

“T-The password,” He rasps, trying to catch his breath, “Is ‘Mother’, right?” The man is silent for several moments before scoffing,

“You’re smarter than the wolves.” He huffs and begins to walk away, “I’m out of here!” Before Kenma can say anything he’s out of sight. In front of him now was the red larva, or at least he assumed. It look exactly like the other grubs he had run into prior but of course, strikingly red. Hesitantly, Kenma picked up the red larva in his arms and it smiled at him.

“Hey, are we friends now? I love you!” It chirped. Kenma frowned at this and shrugged, not seeing the harm in going along with it.

“Sure.” He says monotonously.

“Yay! I’ll never leave you, best friend!” It sing songs as it squirms happily in his arms. Turning on his heel, the boy had a much easier time finding his way out of the maze as opposed to having to go through it to look for something. When he crossed the bridge to give the red larva to the Ram who called herself ‘The Woman’, Kenma noticed the woman that was hanging from the tree was now fully cocooned, her facial features pressing against the shell of what was keeping her hidden. Unsure of what to say or even do, he decides to just push on to The Woman’s house.

“Ah, the boy returns!” She gives an arrogant smirk when he enters her home with the red larva. “Oh? Give the red larva to the woman!” Kenma nods and hands the surprisingly heavy creature to her but she holds it with ease.

“Hello!” It greets politely, “How do you know my friend?”

“A fine color, this one!” She sings happily as she unhinges her jaw and swallows the large, red larva whole. The sound her throat makes when she swallows something so large is almost cringe worthy. He resists the urge to do so in her presence. The ram lets out a soft burp before speaking again, “The woman abandoned her heart long ago. The resolve of a woman must be strong. The woman is so sorry. The woman is so....” Her voice trails off.

“Um-”

“The resolve of a woman must be strong!” Her voice booms with confidence now, “Now, the boy has done as he was asked, no? So, the woman will honor the deal. Here, this magic scroll will remove the curse.” She pulls a scroll from the inside of her red Kimono and hands it to the boy.

When Kenma leaves the small home, he finds another marble pillar with the same owl resting upon it.

“Who can tell me the time?” It hoots as the creature eyes the scroll in his hands.

“Tea time.” He’s gotten so used to this he doesn’t even have to look at the pillar anymore.

“Who doesn’t enjoy afternoon tea?” As it has before, the ground rumbles and Kenma holds onto the scroll tightly as not to let it go until shaking stops. Crossing the bridge, he gives the now full cocoon one last glance before approaching the wolves named after the seasons.

“Back, are ya?” Winter narrows his eyes at the other.

“Did ya talk to the Sphinx?” Spring questions, hopeful.

“Fool! Clearly he didn’t!” Summer growls.

“Nobody messes with the Sphinx and comes back in one piece.” Autumn nods.

“We did…” Winter says quite literally.

“Yeah! We ate her kid and look at us now! Sittin’ pretty in one piece!” Spring's words sound like venom as they roll off his tongue.

“Actually,” Kenma says matter-of-factly, “She gave me this scroll to remove your curse.”

“She did what now?!” Summer sputters in disbelief.

“Hey, you did good, kid!” Autumn praises.

“I always believed in him!” Winter nods, joining in.

“Now set us free!” Spring demands and the grub behind them clears its throat to gain their attention.

“Alright, Alright, we’ll let the grub go.” Summer says.

“But only after you’ve set us free!” Autumn pipes.

When Kenma begins reading the scroll he hears The Woman’s voice from nowhere in particular.

_“The wolves must know better. Say goodbye to the seasons."_

When he looks up from the scroll he sees the wolves groaning in great pain. While they were no longer stitched together, the bottom half of their bodies were ripped off. There was surprisingly no blood or entrails coming from them. It was as if they had simply been born without the bottom half of their bodies.

“You…” Winter snarls, “You did this to us!”

“Now’s our chance! Hurry and get me loose!” The grub cries, writhing in its confines and Kenma complies, untying the poorly knotted rope. When the grub is free it cackles and crawls away from both him and the wolves.

When Kenma leaves the wolves who are cursing at him and the Sphinx, he sees the cocoon that was in the center of the bridge torn open with disgusting clear liquids and blood dripping from the inside and onto the hard wood of the bridge. Upon further inspection he noticed a key inside and reluctantly took it. Maybe this was the way out of the garden?

Hurrying towards the way he came, Kenma hurriedly stuck the key into the locked door. For some reason there wasn't one when he had entered but he certainly didn't have the luxury of complaining. It fit!

“...Cat?” A voice from behind him calls. When he peeked over his shoulder his eyes widened when he saw a woman in a red kimono with a fly’s face and its wings growing from her back. “Do they see Cat? They say they miss you!”

“Oh my god…” Kenma whispers in astonishment and she turns to him and begins approaching him slowly.

“Are you Cat?” She asks frantically and he shakes his head fervently, “That’s right! You don’t look like Cat at all!” She turns on her heel and begins walking away, “Oh, Cat, Why did you leave? They wanted to hold you. They loved you very much.” She cries to herself until she disappears deep within the garden.

_They loved you very much._

When he rips the door open once she’s out of sight, a voice from nowhere in particular whispers to him,

_“Even if you look a little different...I hope that I don’t look so different to you.”_

Standing before him once again was the little boy Cat with his scarf still safely wrapped around his neck.

“By the way,” Cat turns to him, running his delicate fingers over the scarf carefully as he brushes his fairly long black hair out of his yellow eyes, “What’s your name?”

“My name?” He questions and Cat nods, taking several steps forward.

“What’s your name?” He asks again, persistent.

“My name is Kenma,” Cat frowns at this. “But my family used to call me...Cat.”

“Nice to meet you, Cat,” The little boy gives a soft smile, “Let’s take you home.” And he walks away into a different direction, just as he did when they conversed when Kenma left the basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:3c


	3. House Of Memories

Kenma sees Cat turn a corner and hears the faint steps of the boy climbing the wooden staircase; it creaks beneath his weight. He follows him but by the time he climbs up the staircase he’s already out of sight. Walking down the hall he saw what seemed to be a family portrait. A mother, a father, and a son. He wasn’t smiling. Looking away from the portrait, Kenma sees a single white door at the end of the hallway. Slowly he begins to walk towards it and as he enters through it he makes his way down the threshold of yet another narrow hallway.

Upon entering the new room, he concluded by the wooden beams decorating the ceiling that he had entered the attic. For whatever reason, there were two rows of coffins within the room. In front of him stood a rather tall man wearing a suit. He looked prim and proper despite his rather messy dark hair that made it seem he had just gotten out of bed. The man looks both ecstatic and terrified to see him as his mouth hangs agape with wide eyes.

“Um...Hello,” Kenma greets cautiously and the man just seems to shake. He extends a hand out to the boy that held a familiar material. “Oh! My scarf! You’re giving it to me?” The man says nothing as he just intensely watches the shorter male before him. The onyx haired male steps back several feet as Kenma wraps his scarf around his neck. “Thank you.”

He opens his mouth to say something but no words comes out.

_‘It’s a magical scarf.’_

Kenma jolts in surprise when he hears an abrupt voice within his own mind. He gasps, “What was that?”

The man simply gives a lopsided smile.

_‘If you wear it, you’ll always be warm and safe.’_

The boy knits his eyebrows together, “Was that you?”

_‘Just like when you’re with your dear old Tetsurou.’_

“Who are you?” Kenma frowns at this.

The man seems hurt and he gives a self deprecating smile.

 _‘Please,'_ His voice quivers as it echoes within his mind, _‘Please, remember.’_

With those final words his body seems to disappear in thin air, leaving the boy alone in attic with the plethora of coffins. Hesitantly, he opens one that reads _“Here lies Yaku”_ and was relieved to find there wasn’t a corpse inside but a crystal swan. In front of Yaku’s coffin was another that read _“Here Lies Yamamoto”_ and inside was a small, copper coin. Kenma began sifting through the coffins and found that some of them wouldn’t budge. In a coffin that read _“Here lies Alisa”_ there was a brilliantly red rose. In another coffin, one that wouldn’t budge, it read _“Here lies Tetsurou”_ and he remembered how the man from before referred to himself as that. He couldn’t possibly be dead, right? He just saw him!

In the back of attic was another door and like always, Kenma entered it with caution. In front of him was a blonde monkey with its fur shaved on its sides as it stood next to a popcorn machine. There was a cinema booth and as he approached a voice yelled at him that there were no more tickets. Next to the both was the nutcracker he offered the peanut to when he was trapped in the basement. As they met eye contact, it spoke,

“The Sphinx...She’s so nice,” It sighs, “But she looks so sad…” Kenma remembers her well. Her red kimono that seemed to wash out her pale skin but adorned her petite form despite this. He thinks for a moment and offers the red rose to the nutcracker.

“This will make her happy.” He says. Surely she must love red in order to have everything she owns to be in such a color.

“A red rose? Yes, surely this will make her happy!” It beams as it twirls the red rose in its wooden hands. “Here take this.” It offers him a ticket to which he takes with some reluctance.

Suddenly, the short male with brown hair approaches him. Ever since their encounter with the taller male he had been uneasy as he feels a shiver rip down his spine.

“Is that a crystal swan?” He questions and Kenma nods slowly. The male grins, “I can have it, can’t I?”

“Uh...sure.” Kenma shrugs and hands him the crystal swan.

“Thanks! You’re the best!” He chimes, giving him an eerie grin, “Someone ruined my last one. Here, take this.” He hands the bleached blonde a key. Without warning, a voice on an intercom speaks,

“The play is about to begin. Please make your way to your seat.”

Entering the theater, Kenma took a seat in the front row. In the other seats were the short boy from just a few moments ago, the nutcracker, and the sphinx who was holding a red rose. She hummed softly, tracing her thin fingers over the crimson petals.

The curtains draw open and a tall male with freckles awkwardly walks across the stage. He clears his throat and speaks, “This story takes place long ago. Sixteen years to be exact. It is a tale of rue and woe. And this is the first act.”

“I don’t want to do this…” A familiar soft voice whispers from behind the curtains. The freckled boy’s expression softens but he beckons the voice onto the stage and it complies. Cat walks onto the stage and stands in the center, expression devoid of an emotion.

“This is Cat! And he is ten years old!” He says as he pulls out a prop that resembled a bed before walking offstage. Soon, Faust the dog walks onstage wearing a strangely familiar red kimono.

“Cat!” The dogs booms with a feminine voice, “I am your mother! Time for bed, Cat. Cat! Would you like to hear a bedtime story?”

Cat remains silent for a brief moment before sighing, “I would like to hear one.”

“How about a story with her mother sheep and her son?” She offers and the little boy nods with no resistance, “Once upon a time, there was a mother sheep and her ram son!”

_This was Mommy’s favorite story._

“But one day! A pack of wolves came...and ate her son! Mother sheep was very sad! But also relieved! The end!” The dog huffs. What terrible acting.

The curtains closed as the voice on the intercom spoke again,

“We will now break for a short intermission.”

Leaving the theater, Kenma saw everyone that was watching the play shrouded in one area, munching on popcorn.

“What a strange play,” The sphinx muses, “I’m sure they’ve worked very hard on it.”

Behind her was a door that almost looked like it was a decoration to the wall due to how well it was camouflaged. Stepping behind her, Kenma tried to turn the rusty doorknob only to find that it was locked. Remembering he had a rusty key to match, he pulls it out of his pocket and inserts it within the lock and turns it. He unlocks the door but breaks the key while doing so. Stepping within the hidden door, the boy fixes his flaxen eyes on the crystal swan sculptures resting on marble pillars. At the end of the room was a grandfather clock that didn’t appear to be working. There was likely a gear missing, he figured. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Kenma jolted and spun around to find the man who labeled himself as Tetsurou looming behind him with a fixated stare that never seemed to falter.

_‘This clock doesn’t work anymore. It's been frozen for years. Cat, do you remember yet?’_

“What’re you-” He frowns, confused but is cut off.

_‘No? Here, let’s try again.’_

Kenma blinks and there’s a white flash before his eyes. When he opens them he finds himself in the theater once more, watching the play as he had prior.

“Cat!” The dogs booms with a feminine voice, “I am your mother! Time for bed, Cat. Cat! Would you like to hear a bedtime story?”

Cat stares at the dog wearing a red kimono almost defiantly and shakes his head. Faust glares at him pointedly before coughing.

“Okay!” Faust says almost too cheerily to be in character.

 _‘This is different…?’_ Kenma thinks to himself, confused but intrigued by the awful play.

After several moments the fly from the garden enters on stage wearing a suit, “It is I, Tetsurou!”

“Hello, Tetsurou!” Faust greets.

_He always wanted me to call him Tetsurou._

The fly strides over to Cat and kneels down in front of him, “Cat! I have brought you a present! Would you like to see it?”

Cat nods eagerly, “Yes.”

“Here, a scarf!” The fly sing-songs as it wraps the scarf around Cat’s neck, “If you wear it you’ll always be warm and safe!”

_Just like when you’re with your dear old Tetsurou._

The curtains draw for a few moments before they open once more. The freckled boy stands beside Cat who’s staring at the floor, clearly disinterested.

“This is Cat! Cat, are you excited about having little brothers?” He asks as politely as he can but even so, the boy says nothing. Behind him enter the actors playing Tetsurou and the sphinx onto the stage.

“The twins are coming,” Tetsurou sighs as he speaks with the sphinx, “It might be difficult to stay.”

_Everything will be better when we move._

“The city is wonderful,” He explains to his wife, “It’s always summer there!”

_Say goodbye to the seasons._

“Tetsurou!” Faust scoffs at the other actor, “What about the house?”

“The house?” The fly playing Tetsurou questions.

“This house is just...a memory!” Faust exclaims and the red kimono sways a bit, “Tetsurou! I don’t want to leave!”

_I like the seasons. I don’t want to leave them behind._

“But Alisa!” The fly defends, “The twins are coming!”

_Why are you so selfish? Why are you always so selfish? What does family mean to you?_

The mimicking sound of a creaking door can be heard as the actor playing the sphinx gasps, “Tetsurou! Was that...the door?”

“Cat!” Tetsurou’s eyes widen in panic, “Where is Cat?”

The freckled boy enters onto the stage once more and speaks, “All of this fighting! Between Mommy and Tetsurou makes Cat very sad! And so, Cat decides to run away!”

“But-” Cat tries to speak up but is ignored.

“This is Cat! He has run away from home! He is very sad!”

_“H-Hey Cat? D-Do you still remember m-me?”_

_*_

_Kenma runs down the street as fast as his small legs could carry him as he clutches the scarf wrapped delicately around his neck. He looks behind him and finds that nobody had even bothered to follow him. When he turns back around he sees a man with bandages wrapped around his his face, covering his eyes. In his hands is a camera and by his side is a rather large dog. The dog growls and barks at him, causing the child to flinch._

_“S-Slow down!” The man says as he catches up with his dog, “W-What’s that? A b-boy?”_

_“Um...Hello.” Kenma greets hesitantly._

_“Uh...Uh...H-Hello!” He scrambles for his words but gives a soft smile._

_“I like your dog.” Kenma says as he eyes the dog curiously._

_“Oh! This is my guide dog.” The dog barks again, “H-He helps me see.”_

_“You can’t see?” He cocks his head to the side in confusion, “What’s wrong with your eyes?”_

_“They got burnt up…” The man explains sheepishly, “B-But the doctor says he can fix them.”_

_“Oh.” Kenma states._

_“Um…” The man holds up his camera, “C-Can I take a picture?”_

_“Of me?”_

*

The stage suddenly has the actors that play Tetsurou and the sphinx in a cardboard car cutout.

“Cat! Where is Cat?” The sphinx cries hysterically, “Tetsurou! You are driving too fast! Oh, Cat! Where is Cat?”

*

_“I take p-pictures of everything,” He nods, “So once I can see again, I’ll know all the places I’ve been! Wanna see?” He takes a step back and fumbles with his camera. “We’re looking for this cat.” He says as he points at the blurry photos of a black cat._

_“These pictures are all blurry.” He murmurs softly._

_“What?”_

_“It’s because you keep moving back and forth.” He explains, “Here, hold still.” He adjusts the man’s posture and makes him stand up straight. “Now take a picture.”_

_The man nods and complies as he presses a button on his camera as a blinding white flash appears in front of his vision._

_“Wow! T-Thank you!” The dog barks again, “He wants to know your name!”_

_“My name?” He questions, “My name is Kenma but my family calls me Cat.”_

_“N-Nice to meet you, Cat!” The man smiles, “My name is-” The dog barks again, bearing his teeth for seemingly no apparent reason. “W-We should head back soon. It’s l-late. Shouldn't you go home t-too?”_

_Kenma licks his dry lips before responding, “I ran away from home.”_

_“W-Why?”_

_“Mommy and Daddy...They don’t want me anymore.” Kenma can feel tears prick his eyes but he tries to hold them back._

_“They could be looking for you.” He says quietly after after a period of silence, “T-They must be worried.”_

_Kenma says nothing as he stares down at the ground. Hearing rustling in the bushes, he turns his head to the noise and sees a black cat sit across the street, curling its tail around itself._

_“Look! A cat!” He says suddenly, startling the blind man._

_“A c-cat? W-Where?” He readies his camera as he awaits for Kenma to say._

_“There! Crossing the street!” He pipes, pointing across the street despite the other not being able to see this._

_“A s-stray cat...just like y-you.”_

_“Just like me…” Kenma whispers softly to himself._

_“Oh! P-Picture...hold still.” The man says as he takes a picture of the black cat._

_“Maybe it’s lonely too...just like me.” He mumbles to himself._

_“Huh?” The man tries to strain his ears to hear the child but fails._

_“Here, kitty, kitty…” Kenma hums as he begins to make his way across the street to pet the cat, “It’s pretty late. Do you know where your house is?” He walks closer to the cat, now standing in the middle of the street. “I can take you home if you want.”_

_The dog barks and the blind man goes as stiff as a board as he hears the distinct sound of tires screeching against the asphalt of the road, “C-Cat, a car…” The headlights of the car are blinding as horns blare loudly from the fast oncoming vehicle. “Cat! No!”_

*

The curtains close slowly as the freckled boy sighs, defeated, “What happens next? I don’t know! We lost the script! Um...the end!”

As Kenma makes his way out of the theater once more he sees the actors bickering among one another about who lost the second half of the script. One of them catches the boy staring and snarls at him, causing him to take a few steps back, intimidated. The actor who played Tetsurou steps forwards and apologizes, “I’m sorry they’re so rude! But they don’t hate you.”

_They don’t hate you._

“Thanks for dropping by!” It smiles and sifts through its pockets and hands him a gear, “Here, have this.”

Kenma nods and quickly darts into the hidden room, running past the crystal swans and straight towards the grandfather clock. The boy presses the gear within the clock where it was missing. As soon as he does so, the clock begins ticking rather loudly. Just as before, Tetsurou shows up behind with a more serious expression.

_‘It wasn’t your fault, Cat. We don’t blame you, Cat. There millions of daddies in the world. Millions of boy’s get to have a daddy's love. But only little Cat gets to have Tetsurou’s love. That’s why I wanted you to call me Tetsurou. Cat...You remember now, don’t you?’_

Kenma stays silent for a brief moment before he squints his eyes as if trying to recognize the man before him, “Dad?”

He gives a soft, warm smile before fading away.

Kenma turns on his heel to leave the room but stops in his tracks when he sees Cat in front of him, crying. Or rather, himself.

“I’m sorry…” He sobs, clutching desperately onto the scarf wrapped around his delicate neck.

“It’s not your fault.” Kenma says, biting his bottom lip.

“But it was my fault! I ran away…” His small body shakes as tears cascade down his cheeks.

“You couldn’t have known.” He defends.

“But I did know. I knew it would happen. I knew they would come find me…” Cat sniffles, rubbing his eyes with his small hands.

“You didn’t mean it.”

“I wanted them to find me. I wanted them to look at me!” Cat’s body begins to brim with hysteria as he cries.

“They loved you very much…” Kenma whispers softly, hardly audible but he still hears it.

“That’s not true...they hate me.”

“They don’t hate you,” He says firmly with a new form of confidence, “I’ve talked with them. All of them. The twins, Mom, Dad, and even the man with the camera. They’ll forgive you as long as you don’t forget them.”

Cat stays quiet for a long time before speaking again, “They’ll forgive you as long as you don’t forget them, Cat.”

Just as Tetsurou had, Cat suddenly vanishes with a smile on his face and tears down his cheeks. Walking out of the room, Kenma spots the man with the camera once again.

“Y-You fixed the clock...t-time isn’t frozen a-anymore. This house...it’s only a memory. Y-You need to leave! F-Follow me, please!”

Kenma nods and begins to follow the blind man out of the house, the memories of everything that had happened- everything that he had forgotten hit him like a tidal wave and he wants to do nothing more than curl into a ball and cry. As he exits the house, the man stops him as if he has something he wants to say.

“I-I’m a memory too...Cat, I know it’s hard but don’t forget me again, okay? Promise?”

Kenma nods, not used to being called his old nickname in such a long time, “Promise.”

Without warning the blind man disappears as does the house that he was trapped in for so long. He turns back and sees the street before him. Without hesitating, he begins to sprint down the street at full speed as more memories of his long forgotten childhood began to resurface. He ducked his head as he ran further and further down the street. He wouldn’t forget them again, he wouldn’t ever let their deaths be forgotten.

He sees something in the distance- something obscenely bright. When he comes closer he sees it's a car burning horrendously. The car his parents drove when they were looking for him. The car that they died in.

**Author's Note:**

> well that was pretty fucked up


End file.
